Newton Boer Goats

I've been recieving complaints....

2010-01-22T16:48:00.002-06:00

...that I haven't updated my blog in a while. I have a good excuse - we haven't done ANYTHING worth talking about! We haven't gone to (and will not be going to) Vegas this year, we decided it was probably a better idea to update our house a little bit. We did, however go to a few Vikings games this year...including the playoff game last weekend where they destroyed the Cowboys...it was AMAZING! So we are banking on them winning this weekend and then we will go to Miami and watch them win the superbowl...okay, so that last sentance is more of a wish then a plan, but a girl can dream, right? Anyways, got a few cute shots of some of the cutest kids these past couple months...

Molly & ElsaChelsea & Dylan

enjoy those four pictures, because you probably won't get anymore updates for another five months :-)

(Almost) One year ago..

2009-07-16T19:58:00.006-05:00

(Almost) one year ago today Tom was in a derby and broke his nose. When I posted about it (almost) a year ago, I didn't have any pictures...and if you know me, you know that nothing, not even a broken nose, would get me to stop taking pictures.. Here is the one and only hit of the night for Tom.

He was in a derby and to be quite honest with you, it was a CRAPPY derby...13 cars TOTAL. In the Tom's class, there were only two cars. He knew the other guy pretty well and the promoters of the event weren't going to let either of them run because they were over-built. Tom and the other guy talked the promoters into letting them run because I the audience came to see a show. They lined up across from each other and hit head on....click on the picture, you can see Tom's head (In the black car) jerk forward (hitting the steering wheel) and the other guys head jerk backwords..Tom waved his hands and jumped out of the car. The promoter called for the EMT...

It didn't take the EMT long to realize his nose was broken, so off to the ambulance they went. I kid you not, Tom said "If you want a picture you better take one quick"....aww honey, you know me too well...let me document your pain...
After 8 stitches (3 on the inside of his nose, 5 on the outside) a CAT scan and FOUR hours in the Austin ER, we headed home with his not-so-smashed-up car and his five foot tall 2nd place trophey (remember, there were only two guys?). What's even worse...the other guy said his car was done, so, had Tom not gotten hurt, he would have had first..

He "slept" sitting up on the couch for the next two nights (I put "slept" in quotes because I don't think he slept much) Luckily his eyes didn't bruise too much, they did swell pretty close to shut for a day or so...here he is on one of his better days...
Molly and Elsa were at his folks when we went over there because he couldn't "stand to be in the house for another minute"....Molly was giving him lots of hugs...

and kisses...he would set her down and she come back over for another hug and kiss...and another hug and kiss because hugs and kisses "help you feel better"... Another "good" day..

And here he is (almost) a year later with our niece Chelsea. You can just barely see his scars.

Update

2009-07-16T19:48:00.002-05:00

Alright, so I have been trying to get pictures of our updated house on here for a couple weeks now and am having a tough time! So this is all you get....one before and after shot...I'm guessing you will have to click on it to make it bigger.
Anyways, a couple months ago, we decided to take on a hefty project...noooo way we didn't do it ourselves. We sided (no more having to repaint the wood siding every couple years!), tinned the roof and re-sheetrocked one bedroom and the hallway...did I mention we built a new garage?? No? Well we did...the carpenters started nailing the siding onto the garage and the bottom two feet was so rotton, the nails would slide right out. They said it would be cheaper (because of time) to just tear it down and re-build, so we did. Everyone who drives by or comes over says, "wow, your garage looks so much bigger". Tom and I look at eachother like "you guys are crazy" because we think it looks soooooo much smaller! However, it is the exact same size (not height) because we used the cement pad from the old garage. Anyways. This is the only picture of the house I have for you now. Hopefully I can figure out my computer and put some more up here. (notice the peaks?? don't you just LOVE the stripes??)

Another reason I hate people who smoke....

2009-04-23T16:24:00.003-05:00

Let me rephrase that...I don't hate the people who smoke (I know and love many people who smoke) I just hate the habit...Let me give your reason number 1:
Yes indeed, there are FOUR firetrucks from the local firestation in front of our house this afternoon as we return from Mason City...

"What were they doing her", you ask?.. Well, someone threw a CIGARETTE BUTT out their car window which started the ditch in front of our house on fire.....

Which spread to the twenty or so corn stalk bales in front of our house....

Which spread to the feeder wagon in the cow yard..

They asked my husband to get in the tractor to break the bales apart so they could put the fire out...
And a school bus full of gaukers on the way home from school...

Just as they got done loading up the hoses and two of the fire trucks had left, it started flaring up again, so they had to get the hoses back out...

I understand that it could have been (and thank God that it wasn't) a lot worse (catching the house or the barns full of goats and cows).. However, we are having wind gusts up to 35 mph today and had the wind been blowing just a little more east, it could have been a disaster...Thanks SOOO much to the Stacyville Fire Dept and to "Smiley" - for calling my mother-in-law (who in turn told her painter, who is a fire-fighter for Stacyville, who called it in) and for shutting the barn doors so it didn't get in to the goats and for trying your hardest to beat the fire out with a shovel!!!

The other half...

2009-03-26T19:34:00.005-05:00

I didn't have to work today, so I picked up Elsie this morning and brought her back to our house and had her photoshoot. She did outstanding! Okay, so she wasn't as patient as Molly was - Molly's photoshoot lasted about an hour and a half...Elsie's lasted about fifteen minutes..Becky warned me that I might have some trouble getting her to sit still so I just kept clicking pictures hoping to get some good ones....and if I do say so myself, I believe I did....

This is definately my FAVORITE picture of the day!
"Where's Mawee?"

These girls sure do love their blankies!

"CHEESE!"

If you're paying attention, you know that this bottom picture is not real...I did some copying and pasting since I can never get those two girls to sit together long enough to take a picture... I myself, knowing that it's fake, can tell that it is fake...what do you think??

Molly & The Robin

2009-03-16T15:05:00.004-05:00

Okay, so the title is a little decieving...Molly has, a couple times, begged Tom and I to let her stay over at our house, and she finally got to last night...That being said, she had nothing to do with any Robin...Every spring I look forward to seeing the first Robin...it is a sign that spring is here (or just around the corner)...I saw my first Robin yesterday in one of the trees in our yard...and today it is 63 degrees!!!!! It is soooo nice out...a little windy but I'm not complaining!! When I was little I always thought the Robins brought the nice weather with them because you would never see them until it was nice enough to go outside without a coat on. They still have me convinced...Tom, however, said he saw a Robin at his mom and dads house about a week ago.. I didn't see it, so it didn't count...besides, I think that Robin jumped the gun a little because two days later the temp was below zero again!!

Now that you have patiently read my Robin story, on to the pictures....cause you knew that I couldn't have one of my nieces or nephew visit without a photo shoot, right? Well, here you go..

She did such a good job...

she was either smiling or laughing the whole time

The girl doesn't let her blankie go far..

She found these dress-up clothes and beads and asked if she could "please wear them"

"I'm a butterfly with a princess" she said (with the tu-tu and wings)

You may have noticed I found a new color effect...(the bottom picture for example)...I kind of stumbled upon it and was very pleased, so that is my new obsession..

March 6, 2001

2009-03-06T21:52:00.005-06:00

Whenever I have a lot on my mind, whether I'm happy, sad or whatever, I like to turn to a pen and some paper. Sometimes just a journal other times I write poems. 8 years ago today, I lost one of the greatest men I will ever know to cancer...my grandpa. A year later, I was thinking about him and went to my room and came up with this...go easy on me, I was only 16!

March 6, 2001

A day I will dread for years to come.

6:22 was the time I woke

My mom came in her voice trembled as she spoke.

I heard the words, they were very clear

I sat up in bed and wiped a single tear.

The tears started flowing in a never ending stream

I told myself to wake up it was all just a bad dream.

Reality struck and I knew I was awake

For this bad dream was anything but fake.

There was a feeling in my stomach, kind of like a knife,

I knew I this was going to be one of the hardest days of my life.

It's been year now, March 6, 2002

There are so many things I want to tell you.

I know I can't see you anywhere,

but I know wherever I go, you will always be there.

From the sky is where you fell, only to land in my hand.

Together, forever we will stand.

I miss the things we used to do,

I miss the things we'll never get to,

But most of all Grandpa, I miss you.

In heaven we will meet here-after

Where we'll all live happily ever after.

That day I will dread for years to come,

That day, March 6, 2001

Some of my favorite memories are those from when I stayed at my grandma and grandpas house. They were farmers and I loved going to visit during harvest because he would always let me ride in the combine with him. Two of my cousins are around the same age as me and we would always go spend the night at the same time - every night before bed, my grandma would come in, tuck us all in and pray with us. We, of course, were never tired and my grandpa would always come in and say "if you guys don't settle down I'm gonna bite your toes!"
The last time I saw my Grandpa was three days before he passed...I didn't really talk to him because he mostly slept. We got ready to go and I said goodbye to him - more-so a "i will see you later" goodbye. The one thing I regret to this day is not telling him that I loved him, I know that he knows, but I wish I would have told him.

As I drove away from my grandparents house after he was gone, a song came on the radio that pretty much summed it all up...I had to pull over so I could cry, and to this day I have a tough time listening to that song. The song was, "I Will Remember You" by Sarah Mclachlan.

Above: My oldest sister, my grandpa holding me and my grandma 1984

Below: My grandpa, my great grandpa and myself 1999/2000

I love you Grandpa!

Beauty

2009-03-06T13:33:00.002-06:00

Nothing captivates me like the site of a Bald Eagle in the wild. I think they are the most gorgeous creatures in the world. I saw this Bald Eagle on my drive home today and I had to turn around and take pictures. I could have sat on the side of the road for hours just watching this bird do nothing. It just lifts my heart and makes me all happy inside.

Vegas

2009-03-06T12:39:00.005-06:00

Yes! We went to Vegas AGAIN this year! This was the fourth time we've been to Vegas in our three years of marriage. We went for our honeymoon and obviously had a good time, so we just keep going back! This year, we left on a COLD day...below is the screen at the airport..the temperature in Minneapolis -11 and the temperature in Vegas 51...I think we traded up!!

Below is a picture of half of the strip from our Hotel roof. Thanks to Tom's aunt and uncle we got to stay in their time-share...the hotel was absolutely gorgeous and the rooms were FANTASTIC!!

We took a bus tour to go see the Hoover Dam. Included in the package was a tour of the inside of the dam. It was very neat and really informative!

We saw the "baby" dolphin at Sigfried and Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat..there were also lion cubs and a cheetah cub!

Ethel M. Chocolate factory..

Red Rock Canyon was gorgeous!..

Stuck in traffic on the way to the Grand Canyon

was the perfect time for a photo-op!

THE GRAND CANYON!

Was absolutely breathtaking!! Tom and I agree

that this was definately the best part of our trip!

Click on the below picture to make it bigger...

the arrow points to Tom and his uncle Denny

on the skywalk over the Grand Canyon.

The Colorado River going through the

Grand Canyon

No, I didn't go on the skywalk at the Grand Canyon and NO, it wasn't because I was scared...it cost a pretty penny...okay, so only $30 dollars for a once in a lifetime thing, but we couldn't take anything out there...not even my camera, so I decided (as well as Tom's aunt Ann) that we would just take pictures of them on the skywalk...They even had to wear little hospital type booties so their shoes wouldn't scratch the glass...it's apparantly very expensive to replace. As much fun as we have had in Vegas, Tom and I talked and decided we might have to find a new destination for vacation next year, cause there is really only so many things you can do in Vegas....eat and gamble and while we love doing both, it's time to see another part of the United States, haha!

We have SOOOO many pictures from our trip, we had a BLAST! While there, we got to hang out with Tom's aunts and uncles; Ann and Denny and Susan and Denny... Thanks Ann and Denny for driving us everywhere (Chocolate Factory, off the strip to casinos, Red Rock Canyon and the Grand Canyon) We had so much fun and we were glad we could experience it with you guys!! Thanks also for allowing us to use your time-share. We hope you guys had as much fun as we did!

Chelsea

2009-02-02T10:20:00.000-06:00

Here are a few more pictures of Chelsea. I get too excited to put pictures up and don't finish editing them..so I played around with a few of her pictures and here are the final products...

Goddaughter..

2009-01-22T16:32:00.000-06:00

I picked up my god-daughter, Miss Chelsea Grace for a couple hours this afternoon to bond and do a photo shoot. If I do say so myself, it didn't go half bad. What a sweet little girl she is...and so photogenic! Enjoy! (I think the first one is my favorite)

It stings the toes and bites the nose...

2009-01-15T08:05:00.001-06:00

....and the fingers and the ears and the cheeks..Holy cow it's cold out...again. Tom said last night, "winter isn't even halfway over and I'm already sick of it". I think he says that every year, but I totally agree with him this year. The temp hasn't been above zero now for a couple days. Todays low, with the windchill, its -50 degrees!! I woke up this morning and here is a picture of our weatherbug on the computer screen.....
Yea, that reads 26 degrees below 0....with the windchill it is negative 48! I CAN'T wait for our trip to Vegas in a couple weeks...right now it is 110 degrees warmer in Vegas then it is here...

Welcome to Iowa...

2008-12-15T08:15:00.001-06:00

I checked the local weather this morning because we are under a "wind chill advisory" and the weather.com read, "-4 but feels like -27"....Yep NEGATIVE 27 degrees...Holy cow! I don't even wanna walk outside! Anyways, we had Christmas with my family this weekend, it was such a fun time! I have a little story about Christmas. When I was little, we had this cheesey little elf:

Not sure exactly where it came from but we have had it for as long as I can remember. When I was younger, as soon as the Christmas decorations were out, I would take the elf off the tree and go to my room and play barbies, or house with it. When it was time to put the decorations away, my mom would have to search my room because I would hide it from her. I don't exactly know what my fascination was with this dorky decoration. Anyways, this brings me to one of my Christmas gifts from my parents this year. A big(ger) elf Christmas decoration:Apparently there is a childrens book that talks about how the elf sits on the shelf and every night when kids are asleep it goes back to report to Santa on the good and bad things that the kids do during the day. Now, I don't know if the little elf has anything to do with the story, or where my mom even got the elf 15 or more years ago....
but I have to say, they do look a lot alike....

"Great Great Great" Woman

2008-12-11T09:34:00.000-06:00

I want to wish my mom and dad a very happy 26th anniversary today, however, I know my mom is going to have a hard day because this morning my Great Grandma died at 105.... She was definately a Great grandma and we will miss her deeply - heaven is so lucky to be getting her!

A couple weeks ago, I got together all of the jewelery that my Great Grandma had given me over the hundreds of times I visited her when I was little. My mom found the neatest idea in a magazine, so I took all the backs off of the (clip on) earings and pins and glued those and some pendants and bracelets to a frame, one for myself and one for my mom..

Big Birthday!

2008-12-01T11:25:00.000-06:00

Today my Great Grandma turns 105! That is one milestone I hope to never hit!! I remember when my cousins and I were little, every single day during the summer we would go visit her for a couple hours. I don't know if it was more to get away from day-care (both my mom and my cousins' mom had in-home daycares) or if it was for the ice cream. We really enjoyed listening to her stories and looking at her old pictuers. When we got new puppies, we ran all the way (ten blocks) to the nursing home to tell her about it, she asked to see them so we ran all the way home and brought them back and knocked on her window. She was inside her room smiling, clapping and waving - she seemed to be so excited for us. We took the puppies back home and got on our bikes to go back to visit with her. When she could leave for visits, she always came over for Christmas - as soon as she would get here, she would park her wheelchair in front of my piano and refused to eat until I played her a couple songs. The pictures are from her 100th birthday and sadly that is the last year she had her full memory - she was sharp as a tack up until her 101st birthday. We go to visit occasionally and she gets so excited when you walk into her room - you think it's because she recognizes you but she just gets excited to have company. My favorite quote she used to say to us everyday when we were getting ready to leave "Oh I could just eat you up but then I wouldn't have you anymore". Happy Birthday Grandma!

Tom and I with my grandma at her 100th birthday.

Five generations - myself, my mom, my grandpa and my grandma

Take your time

2008-11-27T09:24:00.000-06:00

That is what I ask of you this Thanksgiving day. My second cousins (my moms cousin) husband found out the worst possible news yesterday, the day before Thanksgiving. To be honest, we haven't been close to that side of the family for years. We exchange Christmas cards and talk when we run into eachother uptown, but that's about it. So I have been reading updates on his caringbridge site. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/shawnberg Shawn turned 37 on Father's Day this year, a few days earlier, he found out he has cancer. Up until a couple weeks ago, they had no idea what kind it was, adrenal cancer. Yesterday he went for a scheduled visit in a lot of pain. The doctor told them that they were going to be taking him off of his cemo because it was causing more bad then good. They were then told the news you never want to hear, that they were sending him home with a hospice nurse and he should start saying his goodbyes to friends and family, including his two daughters, Isabelle - 7 and Peyton - 4.
This is why I say take your time. Not just today, but everyday. Take the time to think about what really matters to you. Take the time to thank God for what you have. The vaccuming, the dusting, the laundry - it can all wait - stop what you're doing and go play catch or barbies with your kids/nieces/nephews. It's a sucky realization that I have come to see, watching my grandpa lose his battle with cancer - watching my mom kick cancers ass (Mom, you are my hero!! I love you so much!!) You never know how much time you have, so spend your time with those you love most! I have been praying and continue to pray for my cousins family. And I am asking for your prayers also, they are needed and will be greatly appreciated. I commend my cousin for looking through all of this and seeing the good times that they have had and will continue to have.
I hope you all have a very Happy, family filled, Thanksgiving.

All in a days work

2008-11-20T20:45:00.000-06:00

Our shed guys finally made it! I went to work at nine thirty yesterday morning and when I got home around four, this is what they had done...wow they are quick!

What I wouldn't give..

2008-11-19T21:44:00.000-06:00

To be a kid at Christmas. Lately I have been having these...I guess you would call them memories...or flashbacks(??) of Christmases past. Nothing long enough to enjoy, just couple second clips when I see/hear/smell certain things this time of year. For example, in the grocery store the other day looking down the aisles and seeing the hanging Christmas decorations, it was a pretty easy flashback because I think the grocery store in town has had the same decorations for 15 years.
Every year the day after Thanksgiving, my dad would take us to the local Christmas tree farm and pick out a tree. We would go to a little rinky-dink resturaunt in town (now gone) and have fries and a pop and then go home and decorate the tree (lights first, then ornaments and the star last). The Saturday before Christmas was always the Milton Christmas (my dads family), my grandma and grandpa spent their winters in Arizona and would fly back for a few days to have Christmas. Above picture is the entire family (minus one, not born yet) Bottom picture we would take turns dressing up each year, myself as Santa and my cousins as Mrs. Claus and the elves.

Christmas morning we would wake up early, go downstairs and open presents, one at a time, youngest to oldest. After presents, we would get together with my aunt, uncle, grandpa, grandma and cousins (moms side) either at our house or my aunt and uncles. Bottom picture is Christmas morning, my cousin and I (in my favorite Christmas dress of all time).

I know this is kind of early, but I have had my Christmas decorations out since the day after Halloween - if you haven't guessed, it is my favorite time of year!

Wacky Weather

2008-10-26T17:47:00.007-05:00

We didn't have the best weather for harvest this year! First it rained.......They had to fill the grain truck on the road because it was too wet to get out of the field with a full truck...noticed the mud on the road in the foreground??
Then we had ONE day of sunshine! (yesterday)....
And today, it snowed (still is snowing and boy is it windy! Fifty mile/hour wind gusts today)....but seriously, I'm not joking! Take a closer look...the white stuff in front of the green on the tractor and combine is not bees-wings*, it's SNOW!! I guess it IS that time of year again! **Update - I found a better picture showing the snow in front of the combines so you don't have to "take a closer look"

Yea, it's snowing outside and we still have two trees in our front yard FULL of bright green leaves....(and yes, that white stuff on the leaves is snow)

*Bees wings (according to Tom) is the wax-y coating on the kernel (of corn) the protects the kernel. (according to me) is the little pink-ish dust that flies everywhere when you are combining and dumping loads...it even flies a quarter of a mile from the elevator to our house to put a nice little coat on our cars.

A girl and her uncle

2008-09-02T12:15:00.002-05:00

I have to say this is my favorite picture so far this year

Molly & her "Unkie-yom" (Uncle Tom)

P.S. Becky, I am hoping to send a picture order in by the end of this week if you could get your order to me by Thursday afternoon. Thanks!!

The tables have turned....

2008-08-30T11:29:00.006-05:00

I should have asked Becky what I could use to bribe little miss Elsa!! Molly sat so still for me and smiled for most of them (until I told her to hug Elsa). But Elsa just did not want to sit still. As you can tell from the top picture, I had her in a little crate to keep her somewhat contained..

This is where she was done smiling - she wasn't so much hugging Elsa as she was hold her back...

What a couple of

sweet little girls!

This might sound bad...

2008-08-24T22:29:00.002-05:00

....but, Becky - I was wondering how I could possibly bribe Molly into taking a picture or two with Elsa when I watch them Thursday??? Last time my M&M's didn't do the trick, just wondering what she is really into right now that might help me out a little :) Thanks!!!

Girls, girls, girls..

2008-08-19T10:54:00.002-05:00

Wow, these girls are really growing up! Bria is going to be 12, Bailey will be 10 and Izzy just turned 7. It doesn't seem like that long ago that I was trying to get them to sit still for pictures - this photo shoot only took a half hour - I took 60 pictures and I think there were only a couple of them that I didn't like (eyes closed, cheesey smiles, a yawn - Bria) Anyways, Bria is already as tall as me - I remember when I would get home from school and she would crawl up the stairs as fast as she could to get to me.

I was very surprised when I said, "okay, hug eachother" - they actually did!! And smiled while doing it!!

Not only are they growing up fast, but they are growing up into great young ladies - I wish I could go back in time, because they really did all this sudden get old!!

Recovering..

2008-08-12T11:42:00.002-05:00

Most of you who read this probably already know that Tom was in a derby accident last week...I guess I don't know if you can call it an accident since he knew he was going in there to crash into people...
Anyways, we woke up this morning before the sun (which is very rare for us this time of year) I don't think either of us got much sleep last night...I have to admit - I was a wreck - not so much that I didn't trust the surgeon (who, I think it is important to mention, was no older then us) but more-so that I was worried with some of his medicine allergies that he was going to have problems with the anesthesia (not to mention I had a dream that he didn't wake up after surgery)
We got to the Mason City Surgery Center at 6:15 - were called back at 6:30 for prep (which took an hour and fifteen minutes). They came in at 7:44 to take him into surgery and I was sent back in the lobby waiting room.
19 long minutes later (okay so 19 minute surgery is not long, but it felt long to me) my Medipass started vibrating and beeping - I was taken into a little room where I waited for the doctor. He came in and said that the surgery went well and that it'd be approx. a half hour before he would wake up and I could go back and see him. The next words out of his mouth were "I did the best I could"...He said that the x-ray didn't give the break justice and that instead of two or three big pieces there were "a lot.....a lot of little pieces, too many to count" He said he did the best he could trying to reconstruct his nose putting the little pieces together as best he could. After that fun little meeting, I was sent back to the lobby waiting room.
About a half hour later, my Medipass started vibrating and beeping again and I was taken back to see him...He seemed okay - said that he wasn't in any pain. The longer we sat in recovery however, and the more the pain medicine wore off, the more pain he was in. We were home by 11:30 and he is sitting on the couch right now, trying to get some sleep as I tap at the keyboard.. He said the re-break and surgery is more painful right now then when he broke it in the derby..
That's all I have for you now - he's supposed to go back on Monday to "see if it took", Tom said "I don't care if it takes or not, I'll live with a crooked nose, I'm not doing this again."

Where's the goats?

2008-07-06T09:35:00.005-05:00

People have been requesting goat pictures for a while - I don't have many on my computer, but these are a couple I did have. I will have to get out and take some pictures here soon.

No special reason for this one, I just thought he was cute.

This is the first set of quadruplets that we had that survived. They were born while Tom and I were in Vegas this winter, so in December - this picture was taken around April/May.

This is my favorite picture of the four Billies - they came all the way from Africa!!!

Finally!

2008-07-05T09:21:00.008-05:00

I know I haven't posted forever, but I have been having problems with this stupid sight. It hasn't been letting me upload pictures. No, I don't have it figured out yet, it took me four hours to get these eight pictures up. These are the 2008 "glamour shots" of my older nieces.. Whenever I say, I wanna take your pictures, they huff and puff, but ever since I started calling them glamour shots - they think it's the coolest thing and actually ASK me to take their pictures!!

Bria

Brooke

Bailey

Isabel

A couple of cute little girls...

2008-05-27T11:40:00.002-05:00

In front of a "cute little farmhouse".

Hey Becky, I forgot to get the picture order from you last night. If you know what you want, you can just leave a comment on here and I can get those ordered for you, thanks!

Molly & Elsa

2008-05-23T17:09:00.003-05:00

Becky wanted me to take pictures of the girls together in their cute, fancy pajamas before they outgrew them. I watched them for a couple hours this past week, and tried to get a few of them together. Becky failed to tell me, thought, that M&M's don't work as a bribe for Molly to sit by her sister anymore. However, she still wanted them after our little photoshoot. I did happen to get her to sit with Elsa long enough to get a couple cute shots. Becky doesn't know this yet, but the bribe I used was that she could jump on the bed for a minute after we were done.

Even though I only got four or five pictures total, the ones I did get turned out very cute - but how couldn't they with such cute little girls??

Becky, does this look okay for your 10x10 or do you want me to do a different color for the background or different font for her name? Also, were these the right pictures, I tried to remember, but not sure if I got them right.

Mother's Day Photo Shoot

2008-05-23T16:53:00.005-05:00

These first two pictures make me laugh, as you can see, they are obviously taken before I started my Indian dance.

And this picture was taken during my Indian dance - what a difference, huh?? I told my mom, I don't know what I am going to do when he doesn't think my Indian dance is so funny anymore. Look at poor Chelsea, she's thinking, you're telling me I am actually related to that one??
Bria, Isabel, Dylan, Brooke (holding Chelsea) & Bailey

Brooke, Dylan & Chelsea

2008-05-23T16:36:00.003-05:00

I will do anything for my nieces and nephew...and the nerdy dance I do to get Dylan to smile like that is proof! That little boy has to be up and going all the time - he hates to sit for pictures! So, while watching Barny one day, he was mad cause his mom was taking too long to make his lunch, there was a guy doing an Indian dance...I started dancing and making funny noises and he went from crying to laughing in a snap! Who would have thought that would be the only way I could get him to smile (laugh) for pictures. I bet my parents neighbors were thinking "What is she doing!?"

Molly Sue turns....

2008-05-23T11:43:00.006-05:00

TWO!

Little Miss Elsa
The Whinnie the Pooh cake Becky made!!!!

The Bubble Machine from Uncle Tom was a big hit!!

A load off my mind

2008-04-06T15:59:00.005-05:00

I was soooo nervous to take the pictures for my cousins wedding!! I didn't even want to look at the pictures cause I was afraid they were going to be terrible, so I looked at them for the first time today (their wedding was last Saturday)..I figured I had to look at them cause they will be back from their honeymoon tomorrow. I was actually surprised at how well they turned out.

The beautiful Bride

Bride and Groom
The happy family

Scott with Stephs girls

Steph with Scotts boys

Two families united as one

A little late, but...

2008-03-28T07:57:00.002-05:00

I took a trip to Seattle with my mother-in-law to visit my husbands sister. It was a lot of fun and it was so beautiful there. I took about five hundred pictures and since I don't have time (or room) to put all of them up I just picked a couple of my favorites.

The Seattle Skyline:The Seals/Sea Lions?? were my favorite!
The Pike Place Market was unlike anything I've ever seen.

I loved the dried flowers
My favoriet picture - the beach with the mountains in the background

Obsession

2008-03-06T22:20:00.004-06:00

My obsession is eyes...that is the first thing I notice when I look at anyone and I have to say that my nieces and nephew have some of the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen!!

Elsa's eye color seems to change from picture to picture, I have pictures of her with gray-ish eyes and I have pictures of her with bright blue eyes.

Miss Molly has the most beautiful eyes - they are like three or four different colors and her eyelashes are to die for!!!

Dylan has the brightest blue eyes I have ever seen...However, I think they change with his mood - I have noticed that when he is in a bad mood they are darker and when he is happy they are bright.

Finally!

2008-02-29T10:39:00.006-06:00

After seven nieces and a nephew I was asked to be a Godmother!!! I am absolutely ecstatic!! Anyways, here is the little miss on Tuesday (3 days old)...It is hard to believe that she came from my sister - she is so dark and has dark hair and my sister is very fair with very blond hair...Andi (mom) said that her big brother is keeping her up at night more then Chelsea is!

Dylan is a very proud big brother - he is very protective of her and gives her lots of kisses - completely the opposite of what I thought was going to be. He is such a mamma's boy I thought Andi was going to have trouble with him being jealous!

What a sweet baby girl!

(Sorry Mary, I know I said I would have a couple more pictures up last night but I was having trouble with my computer, so I am using my moms right now.)

Outnumbered...

2008-02-24T22:01:00.004-06:00

Poor little guy, you gotta feel sorry for him! Yesterday he was blessed (?) with ANOTHER sister..Okay, so he only has two sisters, not terrible, right? My husband and I have eight nieces and nephews and he is the only nephew! His mom is done she says, so the pressure is on for Tom and I to have a boy when we have kids! Here he is at 18 months (Dylan)...two weeks before his world was turned upside-down...(He is a big mammas boy) He tried to push Chelsea off his moms lap in the hospital - he's in for a big surprise!!!

He looks exactly like his mom and in this picture

looks like he may have a little devil in him too!!

Here she is....

Chelsea Grace

February 23, 2008

7 lbs 5 oz

19 in. long

And here is the happy family

Heatwave

2008-01-30T22:17:00.000-06:00

At least it feels like a heatwave..it's ABOVE zero right now! Last night at this time it was about thirty below zero (with the windchill) right now it's three degrees and it's supposed to get up to 27 this weekend!!! Anyways, we survived the storm last night! I woke up this morning expecting to have to dig out of our house, however, I think we got about an inch of snow it was just blowing all over the place! When we finally got the four foot high drift out of the end of our driveway, I ventured out. I was quite surprised at the amount of cars in the ditch - my roundtrip to/from Osage I only saw four vehicles in the ditch! I know that there were a few more because you could see were some had been pulled out already. Anyways, this first picture is of our mile drive yesterday. We had a friend call who went in the ditch and asked if we could help her out..we went a mile and had to turn around because we couldn't see a couple feet in front of the truck - luckily her neighbor came by and drove her home.
Now that I look at these following pictures, it's all kind of a mess...the two on the right are without any drawings (obviously) but only because after I saved the one on the left, it wasn't as easy to tell what was going on. You have to click on them to get them bigger but the ones on the left, I circled the No Passing Zone sign on the left (top and bottom) the Semi in the middle (top and bottom picture) the yard light (top and bottom) and the street sign (top and bottom) I guess what I was trying to get at here was how hard it was to see...??? I"m not really sure, I messed with the pictures this morning and forgot what I was trying to do.

This picture on the bottom is just a closer look at the semi. I was a little upset that I didn't get to see them pulling it out of the ditch - I went to my moms house and I was about 30 seconds too late - they were pulling it off to the side of the road when I went by...It took two tow - trucks to pull it out...after he was out of the ditch, he continued on his way..what a trooper!

Would you make up your mind?!

2008-01-29T18:26:00.000-06:00

Watching the six o'clock news tonight the meteorologist said that right now it is 44 degrees colder then it was 24 hours ago - it is -4 right now and it was a whopping 40 degrees at this time last night!!!
This morning I woke up and turned on the news and saw that all of the schools around here were cancelled...I looked outside and thought to myself, who is deciding when to cancel school and where were they when I was in school?? I headed to my moms in Osage (10 miles away) to pick up my Schwans order..I left as soon as I got to her house because I heard it was supposed to get nasty (I've heard that before - I am yet to be convinced that the local meteorologists actually finished high school) but I had to drop off my sisters Schwans stuff before I went home. Her house is about five miles on the other side of my house from Osage...so as I left Osage, I noticed that it started snowing but wasn't terrible. I drove the fifteen miles to my sisters house and dropped off her stuff - chatted for about five minutes and got in my car to head the five miles back home. Holy cow! I didn't go any faster then twenty mph...it was NASTY!! My husband got home about a half hour after I did - so I knew it was bad because they hardly ever quit working for weather!

I took this picture of one of the cows this morning around 10:30..it had just started snowing and the wind was picking up...within an hour we could not see the cows from our kitchen window (approx. 200 ft) we couldn't even see off the porch!!!

This picture I took at six thirty tonight - the car is in the garage (the door is open, but still!) I tried to take some pictures of the weather outside, but all I got was snow.
As I type this, my husband (very kind-hearted but not very smart) is on his way to pull someone out of the ditch...quite honestly they are about ten yards from the nearest farmhouse I would go there before I put someone else in danger! What can I say...he can't say no.

Elsa

2008-01-13T21:08:00.000-06:00

While I was babysitting the girls, Elsa was sitting in her high chair loving life - she was smiling, laughing and telling stories. Molly and I finished our lunch so I took Elsa out of her high chair and gave her her bottle. She took a few sips and looked up at me and started crying, so I put the bottle down and danced around with her a little, that didn't seem to make it better, so I put her under her little musical barn thing - instantly she started talking to the duck/chicken?? and laughing, so I picked her up and tried her bottle again - she took a few sips and started crying....to make a long story short, finally I sat on the couch and faced her away from me while giving her her bottle and she drank it right down - she just didn't want to look at me (because I wasn't her mom) After lunch she was still in a great mood and I got so many good pictures of her - she loves the camera just like her big sister. In fact, Molly was getting a little jealous. I was taking pictures of Elsa and Molly ran over to us, sippy cup in one hand, blankie in the other - she threw down her blankie, grabbed my arm and yelled "NO!" I said "what?" She said "no, elsa" and pointed at my camera and said "cheeeese!"

"More m-m'ssss, Nen?"

2008-01-09T15:10:00.000-06:00

"Peeeease!?!?"

So I have decided that (when Mom and Dad aren't around) a little bribe never hurt, because look at the adorable pictures I got of Molly and Elsa. I watched the girls today so Becky could go have lunch with her old boss - after she left and I fed Elsa, I asked Molly if she would sit in the chair and hold Elsa while I took some pictures.
"NOOOOOOO!" was her answer, so I walked to the kitchen and got a bag of Peanut Butter M&M's out of my purse took them into the living room and held them up - her eyes got huge, "peeease" she said. I said you can have one now and the rest after you let me take some pictures of you and Elsa together. "Yep" she said as she climbed into the chair and held her arms out..I thought the pictures I was getting were pretty cute until Molly rested her head on Elsa's and I just snapped away - I thought it was the cutest thing ever. Of course I held up my end of the bargain, she really enjoyed those M&M's..

Christmases...

2007-12-30T22:39:00.000-06:00

Our first Christmas was with my family the day after we got back from Vegas - Tom and I had a case of jet-lag (if that's how you spell it)...It took us seven days to get (sort of) back on track. Vegas is only two hours behind us, but we had been going to bed at like 1 or 2 Vegas time which was 3 or 4 our time, so it was tough to get back on schedule. Dylan looked so handsome in his plaid and oddly he was in a great mood until he had to sit down and open his presents - he really could have cared less - he just wanted to be up and playing!!

Our second Christmas was on Christmas Eve with Miss Molly and Little Elsa - the girls looked so pretty in their (matching) Christmas dresses!! It was a long night and by the time we were done opening presents these little girls were pooped!

Happy Anniversary to us!!

2007-12-30T16:55:00.000-06:00

Where is the only place you can go (as far as I know) and see the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, and the Pyramids all within a mile of each other?

Las Vegas of course! We had a fantastic Anniversary week! Thanks to Tom's aunt, who let us use her time-share, we were able to spend seven fun-filled days in Las Vegas, NV - our third trip there in the past three years! We took 537 pictures while we were there, and since I can't possibly put that many pictures on here, I chose a few of my favorites...*NOTE* Tom took the one of the waterfall and the gondolas below.

These pictures are from the wax museum...it was a lot of fun, especially since it was a museum where you could actually touch the figures - and take pictures with them...Notice in the middle picture, my husbands dirty mind....He insisted I put this one up...

The food in Vegas is fantastic! The first 3 pictures are from Toby Keith's Bar and Grill - we ate there twice while we were in Vegas. The top right hand picture is the deep fried twinkie (with strawberry topping and whipped cream) it was the best desert I have EVER tasted!!! The bottom middle was at a sports bar called Blondies - it was excellent, I would say the best meal we had (Pilly Cheese Steak Sandwhiches and Chilli Cheese Fries) - it doesn't look real appetizing in the picture, but it was great!

I apologize...

2007-12-30T12:18:00.000-06:00

I am skipping ahead a couple weeks to this morning...yes, I have other posts I will be putting up from the last few weeks, but I don't feel like doing that just yet. The only thing I love more then waking up to a fresh blanket of frost is taking pictures of it. Quick note: After my initial disgust with the huge spider web on the side of our house - I thought it was pretty cool all frosted over, however, my favorite picture out of the ones I took today is either the Christmas wreath with the lights on it or the leaf.

Next, I have a little story about my cats....WARNING: If you have a weak stomach do not read the following paragraph.
I assume that those of you that are still reading this have read and understand my warning. Four (ish) weeks ago, (the night before deer season) I was sitting in bed watching t.v. and I heard a HUGE bang outside - Tom thought it was a poacher out early "getting the big buck" but I assumed it was a car hitting a deer...so, both of us in our pajamas get a flashlight and jump in the truck and drive about a quarter of a mile down the road and find nothing so turn around...we are turning back in our driveway when I notice a deer (a doe - not the big buck that Tom was going to get hunting the next day) in the ditch right by our driveway...well of course the next day is opening day so we (Tom) are too busy to move the deer so it stays there through the snow and ice storm until this week when it finally starts to thaw a little bit. I notice our cats are not as hungry as they usually are in fact they are no where to be found when I go out to feed them in the morning...So I am on my way home from work and as I am pulling into our driveway I sort of glance towards the deer and there is a big hole in the stomach - gross but not too bad, you kind of expect that other animals are going to start eating it....however, I did not expect to see three of our cats walk OUT of the hole in the stomach of the deer. Now that's gross!

25 years

2007-12-09T12:18:00.000-06:00

Happy 25 years to my mom and dad on December 11th!! I love you guys!

When it rains, it pours....

2007-11-30T12:32:00.001-06:00

I haven't posted anything for months and now all this sudden I post three times in one day...oh well, you take what you can get...Anyways, our Thanksgiving get-to-gethers gave me the opportunity to take some family/couple pictures...Here they are...Ann I will email yours tonight and if someone has Tony and Renee's email address I would love to have it! Thanks.

Also...

2007-11-30T12:16:00.000-06:00

On Becky's website she said I might have some pictures of her first party in her dining room..I didn't get any pictures while everyone was there...the first two pictures are our game - time after everyone left and the last two are her dining room before everyone got there...it is absolutely gorgeous!! And I thought the Thanksgiving dinner (party) went very well - Thanks for having us!!

This one is for Becky..

2007-11-30T10:43:00.000-06:00

Hey Becky! Here are a few of the pictures that I took last week, three of the best ones, but if you want to see all of them let me know and I will post them on here too..I messed with the one that I thought was the best, however, I still think you should use the one with Molly crying front and center, in a few years, you will look back and laugh even though it may not have been funny or fun at the time, haha! Anyways, if you aren't satisfied with these pictures I would be happy to take some more. Don't feel obligated since I took time to make a card out of the one (it only took me about ten minutes)...Anyways, let me know what you think and we will go from there...Thanks!

It's that time of year...

2007-11-14T08:38:00.000-06:00

Christmas is here...well, at least it is at my house. I admit it, I am a Christmas fanatic...I am completely obsessed with the Holiday. Last year I decorated for Christmas the day before Halloween, but I didn't put any decorations up outside because I had nothing to decorate...This year, I waited a while (November 2nd) but I didn't put the outside decorations up until Monday the 12th. I was really excited because I have a huge porch to decorate...I lit the lights Monday night so I could see what it looked like in the dark (it looks awesome by the way)..but Tom said "you aren't seriously going to leave those lit, are you?"

"I was thinking about it, why?"
"we always used to make fun of people who had Christmas decorations out so early"

Soo...I unplugged the lights and went outside to pout, but soon forgot about my problems and harrassed my cats with my new laser pointer.

In keeping with the Christmas theme here, I was on the internet the other day, searching for A Christmas Story..If there is anything that I love more then the Christmas Holiday is the movie A Christmas Story..I have already watched it three times since Sunday. So anyways, I was searching google for anything a Christmas Story (I was making out my Christmas list) and I came across the actual house that they filmed the movie in. Turns out it has been turned into a museum (just opened last Thanksgiving) it has been renovated into what it looked like for the movie and the guy also bought a house across the street and turned it into a gift shop.

So, I told my husband that that is where I wanted to go on vacation this year - Cleveland, Ohio. I even told him that we could eat at the Chinese resturaunt where the Parkers had their Christmas dinner (hoping that would entice him since he loves Chinese) "Are you kidding me?" he says, "I hate that movie!"

How could anyone hate that movie?!?! Doesn't look like I'll get to go to Cleveland anytime soon.. :(

3 1/2 months

2007-11-09T09:44:00.000-06:00

Finally after three and a half months I got Molly to be close enough to her sister to get a picture of them both (not crying)...It took a little begging, but when I asked nicely she said she would do it...I only got one without her sippy cup though, so it's a good thing niether of them blinked..

Relatives..

2007-10-23T12:01:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, my husbands aunt, cousin and his cousins son came to visit. Cale is four months older then Molly and they were not at all too sure about each other. (I realized after I already had all the pictures up on this page that the "2nd cousins" part is wrong...technically, my husband and Cale would be second cousins, so Molly & Elsa and Cale would be 3rd cousins - I think I did that right) Anyways, the first picture is of Molly "checking him out"...she was peaking around/under the table. Cale is going to be a big brother in February, and got to practice by "holding" Elsa...Yes, those are bananas in his hair in picture 6 - apparently he was full..
Cale brought Elmo (me-mo), Cookie Monster and Big Bird, and boy was he upset when Molly had his me-mo...after a tense stand-off (they were both giving each other the "evil eye") Molly caved and gave Cale back his me-mo.
Cale must be around the camera as often as Molly, because he was quite the model...however, it made Molly very jealous and she would step in front of him when I would point the camera at him. She also sat down on my lap and would not move. When she wasn't sitting on my lap she was hanging on my arm or holding onto my leg - which made me one happy aunt - she is not usually so clingy to me (or anybody for that matter when I see her) she is usually happiest just kind of running around, so it definitely made me feel good that she wanted me all to herself! I did get a couple pictures of them together, the wouldn't get very close, but they did a good job! (My communication skills teacher would be very disapointed in this paragraph - my sentances are choppy and they don't really "mesh" (as she would say)..I go from one subject to another..Sorry Ms. Regal!
And of course you didn't think I forgot about Miss Elsa this weekend!? She has the biggest smile she is absolutely adorable (and she doesn't cry when I hold her) She is such a sweet little baby..

Chasing goats

2007-10-23T11:53:00.001-05:00

I watched my nephew Dylan one afternoon so his mom could go to a doctor appointment - I told her not to put him in nice clothes because he was going to go out and help me do goat chores. That weekend, Molly was at her Grandma and Grandpas and her uncle Tom and I took her out to see the goats...Both of them LOVED the goats (Dylan wasn't quite sure at first)...however, the goats didn't so much love either of them...

I am still here...

2007-10-10T13:17:00.000-05:00

For those of you who missed me, I have been keeping busier then ever - I am no longer working full-time for my mom, but I have kept very busy this harvest with the nannies kidding. My husband and his dad thought it would be a good idea to have 40 goats kidding while they were in the field (apparantly they were wrong). I keep telling myself it's not my fault, we lost seven kids in the last three weeks and my mother -in-law is bottle-feeding one. One nanny laid on two of her three, one nanny didn't bother cleaning her set of triplets off and two nannies wouldn't accept their kids to nurse. The one my mother-in-law is bottle-feeding, I think was a "premie"...her and her twin were very tiny and she couldn't even hold her head up, no one thought she would make it, but with my mother-in-laws love and care, three weeks later, she is running and jumping with the best of them. Anyways, I have always like the useless little facts, and I just read one right now: A group of goats is called a herd, trip or tribe. I am having trouble with my moms computer not wanting to upload any pictures, out of six tries I only got one picture to upload, so this is all you get for now.

My three favorites out of this group of kids

(the bottom two are twins)

A couple more...

2007-09-13T15:09:00.001-05:00

Finally finished...

2007-09-11T12:11:00.000-05:00

At least for the most part. We aren't quite sure if they forgot about the third door they were supposed to put on, or if they just didn't have it in stock and had to order it. Either way, our porch is done, and I LOVE it! We will most definately be having a 'porch party' sometime, however, the invitations haven't gone out yet (Becky - you weren't left out). It's getting to be that time of year (harvest), so we will probably have to wait. We don't have to be having a party though Becky, you can come see it whenever you want!!!

I am now taking donations!

2007-09-07T08:18:00.000-05:00

For anyone who wants to help make my dream come true :) Haha! Ever since I was little I have asked my parents (and for the past four years my husband) for a White Persian Kitten with blue eyes - I have still yet to recieve one. I was looking on the internet last night and came across the Boutique Kittens website: http://www.boutiquekittens.com/ This particular kitten has been sold, but I am hoping to talk Tom into letting me get on the waiting list (no such luck yet). These kittens can run anywhere from $800 to as much as $3000 (plus shipping cost - $250)! I would never pay $3000 for a cat, but I'm thinking that maybe if I win big at the casino some night I know what I'm spending my winnings on. Or perhaps someone selling a White Persion with blue eyes will come across my website and take pity on me.

UPDATE: Sadly, my husband did not take to fondly to the idea of me getting a cat (whether it be a $3000 cat or a free cat). Perhaps next year....

Not so perfect pictures

2007-09-06T08:13:00.000-05:00

I have realized that not all my pictures are going to turn out...it's hard to believe that just a couple years ago Bria, Bailey & Isabel weren't exactly cooperating, especially since they did so well this year!
Frist Dylan sneezed and then he decided to head-butt Brooke a couple times, but I finally got a good one of both of them.
Molly wasn't so sure she wanted to hold her sister and she was very sure that she wasn't going to put her blanket down. Elsa did really well the first couple of pictures, but then she just wanted her mommy.

It's that time of year again!

2007-09-05T19:09:00.000-05:00

Harvest

I finally caught it on camera!

2007-09-04T15:38:00.000-05:00

When Molly was about 11 - 12 months, she would ALWAYS make this face when someone would smile at her or talk to her and I NEVER got it on camera...she would scowl and then laugh, so I always got the laugh on camera - which of course wasn't all bad. Recently when taking a picture of her, my camera couldn't focus, so it falshed like five times. She's not really mad/glaring at me..she's squinting because of the flashes. I've had a couple comments about it..."you have such good pictures of her smiling, why would you want to display the one where she's glaring at you?" My answer to this is because as smiley and happy as she is...this is completely her...and of course a little bit of her dad. I think it's absolutely adorable!

A little bit of re-modeling...

2007-09-04T10:37:00.000-05:00

So this is what our house looked like when I first moved in...my husband gets mad at me because I tell him it really looks quite creapy...white is definately not a good color for our house..

So it's not a picture of the whole house, but you get the jist...two summers ago we updated the color a little bit...Someone even told me that they had never noticed the fact that there was even a house here, and that she thought we had just built it. The reason the picture is only of the "porch" is because that is our project this summer (it is supposed to be done today when I get home from work)...

2 weeks ago - I came home from work and this is what I see...not exactly a pretty picture...maybe even a little intimidating...

After 2 weeks, it finally looks like they did something - they started the job on a Thursday and the following week they came only Wednesday morning - we got over 10 inches of rain that week, so they didn't get anything done. Our carpenter says "I'm really starting to get sick of this porch, it seems like we have been working on it forever". To tell you the truth, I agree...lets get something done already...This is not the most recent picture, however, I will probably (hopefully) be putting a "finished" picture up tomorrow. (Cross your fingers)

As promised..

2007-09-04T10:31:00.000-05:00

Here are the pictures that I entered in the fair two years ago....okay, so I lied - two of them I entered in the fair, the other two I couldn't find, so I just picked two from the same year...I know the quality is kinda crummy but I didn't have the pictures on a disk, so I had to take a picture of the pictures....The girls look so little!

Bria (not a fair picture)

Brooke (not a fair picture)

Bailey (the picture that got me "best of show")

Isabel

So you're probably wondering....

2007-09-04T09:19:00.000-05:00

Where are the goats?! So my website is called Newton Boer Goats, but I don't have pictures of goats on here...I took some pictures this weekend but my computer froze when I tried to put them on, so I am at my moms trying to put a few up. We raise boer goats for meat; NOTE: 80% of the population of the world eats goat meat, the only populations that do not eat goat meat are the United States and Canada. For now I only have a picture or two of our goats to put on here...I am more into photographing people. If you are interested in buying boer goats, let me know - we almost always have some for sale!

County Fair

2007-08-30T13:22:00.000-05:00

Okay - so this should have been posted a month ago, but since I didn't have my blog then, I will do it now. A couple years ago I put four pictures (one of each of my nieces) in the fair. I got three blue ribbons and the purple "best of show" ribbon. So this year I had planned to put three pictures in - my most recent niece (before her sister was born) and my first nephew - both just turned one within the last few months. Anyways - I had the three pictures, matted - not framed, and walked into the fair office and to my surprise - I was too late. Turns out they changed the deadlines within the last two years and I was 9 hours too late! Grrr.. My husbands cousin - Kelli (sugar creek farm) said she was glad that I didn't get my pictures in on time, because then she wouldn't have won (yea right, I saw the pictures). So since I couldn't put them in the fair, I am going to put them on here.... I will try to find the pictures that I put in the fair the first year too.

Dylan - no matter what I would do, he would not smile. I did get a few good pictures though.

Molly - you can tell she has kind of grown up with the camera in her face, she poses very well.

Future Derby Driver???.....
Uncle Tom was pretty proud of this one - notice the big smile on his face?

Summer 2007

2007-08-23T15:17:00.001-05:00

So here are my latest creations...I know the style on all of them is pretty much the same, but it's new to me, so I was just having fun with it...They are all my nieces and nephew...going in order from youngest to oldest: Elsa - 3 weeks; Dylan - 12 months; Molly - 15 months; Isabel - 6; Bailey - 8; Brooke - 9; Bria - 10. (Elsa and Molly are sisters; Dylan and Brooke are siblings; Bria Bailey & Isabel are sisters)...

I'm new to this...

2007-08-23T14:29:00.001-05:00

Okay, so the reason I am creating this blog is so that I can share some of my pictures that I take of my six nieces and nephew with my sister-in-law who lives exactly 1,801.6 miles from our front door. She's really only interested in seeing the pictures of the two youngest girls, but in all fairness I have to put pictures of all my nieces and nephew up...I'm kind of trying to get into photography - everyone who knows me says I should but I'm still a little nervous. I have done "glamour shots" of my four oldest nieces for the past three or four years, I also did my cousins senior pictures last year and a couple family pictures over the past two years...Anyways, just bare with me as I try to figure this thing out...until then, my husbands' sister-in-law (who I also consider my sister-in-law, but some people tell me she's not mine, just my husbands)...she has a website too - check it out: http://cutelittlefarmhouse.blogspot.com/ My husbands cousin also has a website her address is: http://www.osage.net/~themillers92/SCFBlog/scfblog.html